Chicken Shawarma Recipe Sandwich

Description

Shawarma (Arabic: شاورما‎), also spelled Chawarma, Schawarma, Shawirma, Shwarma, Shuarma,Shawerma, Shoarma, Schwarma, Shoermeh, Siaorma, or Shaorma, is a Middle Eastern Arabic-style sandwich-like wrap usually composed of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or a halal mixture of meats. Shawarma is a popular dish and fast-food staple across the Middle East and North Africa; it has also become popular worldwide.

The classic chicken shawarma combination is pita bread , garlic sauce , tomato, pickles , and the shaved meat itself. Typical additional toppings include tahini, pickled beets and onions. In outward appearance, it vaguely resembles the gyros of Greece or the Turkish döner kebab in the sense that all use pita-wrapped meat, but the sauces are distinctly different.

Serves: 4-5
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes

2 boneless (skinless) chicken breasts, cut into thins strips
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Mediterranean (Greek) yogurt
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp 7 spices
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
3 tbs olive oil
Pita, kabees, pickles and garlic for sandwich.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, cover and let marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Preheat pan and add 3 tbs olive oil, add chicken and let cook for 10 minutes until chicken browns, cook for an additional 2 minutes if necessary to brown. To make sandwich, use pita bread, spread garlic sauce on pita, add chicken, kabees and pickles (you can add tomatoes and lettuce if desired). Roll sandwich and press in the grill press to make sandwich crispy for 3 minutes. Enjoy with fries or salad.

Garlic Sauce

Description

Toum, garlic sauce, garlic dip is a Lebanese side dish prepared using canola oil, garlic, lemon juice, and egg white. It is served with chicken and meat as a dipping sauce or mayonnaise.

Recipe

4 cloves garlic minced with
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup canola oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 egg white

In a food processor add garlic minced with salt, begin processor and slowly add oil and lemon juice alternating them until gone, scape down sides intermittently. Add one to two egg whites while the processor is blending until you reach mayonnaise consistency. Serve with chicken or meat and cover and refrigerate remainder. Lasts about a week refrigerated.

Pita (also called and less commonly known as pitta or pide (Turkish), pitka (Bulgarian) and pronounced "pitta" in Greek is an often round, brown, wheat flatbread made with yeast.

Similar to other double-layered flat or pocket breads, pita is traditional in many Middle Eastern andMediterranean cuisines. It is prevalent from North Africa through the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, possibly coinciding with either the spread of the Hellenistic world or that of the Arab expansions under the banner of Islam.

In Greek cuisine, pita may refer to thicker breads made with yeast, for example souvlaki pita. It may also refer to foods using many layers of dough of thickness less than 1mm, usually with many different ingredients in between, forming savoury pies such as tyropita and spanakopita or sweet pies such as baklava.

The Indian flatbread form of roti is sometimes referred to as "Indian pita".

In a small bowl mix yeast, sugar and 1/2 cup warm water and let sit for 10-15 minutes. In a large bowl mix 3 cups flour with salt and make a well or whole in the middle. Slowly stir in yeast mix and 1 cup warm water until well combined. IN a large bowl add 1 tbs olive oil and spread all over to keep dough from sticking, place dough in oiled bowl, cover with a blanket, and let sit for 3 hours in a warm place. After 3 hours and dough has risen, add flour on to table surface and knead dough for 10 minutes, add flour to surface to keep it from sticking. Form dough into small balls and let sit in a plate for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll our balls to 1/8 inch thick and place on flat cookie sheet or pan, cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until lightly brown and dough puffs up. If the dough does not puff up all the time, that is ok, you'll still have a pita pocket.

These recipes are from a great little Mediterranean site http://www.dedemed.com/

Cranberry Sauce

3 cups of fresh cranberries

3/4 cups water

1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar

Place berries into a large sauce pan & cover with water. Bring to a simmer. Cranberries will begin to pop. Next add sugar. Continue to cook at a simmer for 10 minutes. Add orange zest or juice and chopped nuts for flavor. Make the day before & keep refrigerated.

Turkey with Cornbread Dressing

prepping the turkey for the big day!

My 7.2 kilo(approx...14.5 pounds) turkey still has ice inside 5 days after taking it out to defrost but it was ready to be cooked for sure!

The night before I remove the neck & giblets, place them in a large sauce pan, fill with water, a stock of celery, large slices of onion, a sprig of fresh parsley, 1/2 to 1 tsp sea salt & lots of pepper. Bring to a boil & simmer for about an hour for some good broth for the stuffing & gravy. Store cooled broth in the refrigerator.

After washing the turkey by submerging in fresh water, pulling any feathers off, pat dry inside & out with paper towels, the turkey gets placed in a large bowl or the roasting pan w/plastic wrap & placed back in the refrigerator for the next morning.

corn bread dressing:

If the recipe is doubled. There is enough to fill a 9x13 pan for dinner & a cookie sheet full for dressing.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) +25 degrees for high altitude. In a small bowl, combine cornmeal and milk; let stand for 5 minutes. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix in the cornmeal mixture, eggs and oil until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean.

cube the cornbread in the cookie sheet & bake an additional hour at 325 degrees, stirring until toasted or keep in a warm oven until crunchy. don't burn it! makes 12 Cups of bread cubes.

In the morning pre heat oven to 350 degrees

Old-Fashioned Bread Stuffing

1 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 butter

1 teaspoon sage

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

8 cups dry cornbread cubes

1 cup turkey broth

In a saucepan cook celery and onion in butter till tender but not brown; remove from heat and stir in sage, salt, and pepper. Place the dry cornbread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Add the onion mixture. Drizzle with enough broth to moisten, tossing lightly. Use to stuff one 10-pound turkey. Makes 8-10 servings.

Baking turkey:

pre heat oven to 325 degrees, 350 for high altitude.

Stuff turkey w/cornbread dressing. I use a couple of toothpicks to keep the bottom together, then smooth olive oil over the bird, insert a meat thermometer & loosely cover with tin foil.

6-8 lbs 325 3 1/2-4 hours

8-12 lbs 325 4-4 1/2 hours

12-16 lbs 325 4 1/2-5 hours

16-20 lbs 325 5 1/2-6 1/2 hours

20-24 lbs 325 6 1/2-7 1/2 hours

According to this time chart my birds are typically done an hour before. Bake bird till it reaches 185 degrees.

Gravy

drippings from poultry

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups turkey broth

Brown drippings in a large sauce pan. Blend cool broth & flour together smoothing any lumps. Add to browned drippings & bring to a boil. Simmer 1-2 minutes. Season to taste

Hungarian Dumplings

1     cup           flour -- sifted     

1 1/2 teaspoons     baking powder       

1/2  teaspoon       salt     

1                   egg -- well beaten       

1/2  cup            milk     

1   teaspoon        butter -- melted    

Sift together dry ingredients. 

Combine egg, milk and butter; 

add gradually to flour, 

stirring until dough is smooth and no longer   

sticks to spoon. Break off pieces of dough 

about 1 in long and 1/2 in   

thick and drop into rapidly boiling water; 

boil covered, for 12 to 15 minutes.  

I needed a new recipe to go with our 

chicken n dumpling dish...these are by far 

the greatest dumplings I've ever made!  

They melt in your mouth!  

Almond Butter Buckeye Balls

yields @50 candies

1 1/2 cups fresh almond butter

3 3/4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp Mexican vanilla

1/2 cup butter

mix till crumbly then shape into bite sized balls & place in the refrigerator or freezer to cool.

6 0z simi sweet chocolate chips

2 tbs butter add more to make chocolate runny

melt in microwave at low temp. i use level 4 for 2 min intervals keeping my chocolate ready for candy dipping by placing my pyrex bowl of melted chocolate in a frying pan filled with boiling water. occasionally i turn the stove on low to warm the water.

dip balls with a chocolate coated toothpick & cover until resembles an eye ball. freeze & enjoy! with all the effort that goes into making buckeye balls, i double the recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookies made healthier w/high altitude instructions

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda -1/8 tsp for high altitude

1 cup butter

1 cup honey

1/4 cup molasses

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs, add last for high altitude

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

preheat oven to 400 degrees high altitude -25 degrees at sea level

cream butter, add honey, molasses & baking soda mix till creamy. next add in vanilla, then flour till well blended. add eggs but do not over beat in high altitude. last, add chocolate chips mixing well & place the dough into the freezer for 10 min. drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. after each batch is set in the oven to bake for 10 min high altitude, then place dough back in freezer. let baked cookies set for 2 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to completely cool. enjoy!

Almond Butter

I'm committed to make my boys some Christmas Buckeye Balls. At Gary's request I made almond butter tonight, thinking it may be an even healthier alternative to homemade peanut butter.

I preheated the oven to 375 degrees (which is 25 degrees hotter for high altitude)

lined a cookie sheet with aluminum foil

poured the almonds onto the sheet & baked for 15 minutes, stirred once to make sure it wasn't burning

Then, I loaded 1/3 of the toasted almonds into the food processor. At first they became powdery but sure enough within minutes it was smooth and creamy. The first 3rd of almonds I added possibly a teaspoon of canola oil & it became runny. I suspect it will harden as it cools. The remaining 2/3's I creamed and kept separate. Gary said that way if we like one more than the other, I'll remember how to make it next time.

Now, it's nearly 10:15 p.m. We've had a long day of Christmas shopping in Guadalajara and Gary asks me where his buckeye balls are? They'll be here in time for Christmas ;)

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pops

I made some substitutions:

In place of brown surgar I added 1 cup of honey w/1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 c molasses, 1 tbs tapioca. Butter in place of shortening. Also, add a little extra butter to get chocolate in dipping order. Drizzle is much easier than dip.
note to self: I forgot to add the cream! Need to bake this longer than called for & the tapioca remained hard little balls! Need to investigate how to use tapioca as a thickener when using honey. They cut easily if frozen. As they are, they're best if kept frozen & served immediately. Also, toothpicks work great!
Overall: these are yummy but not a replacement for buckeye balls.

Ingredients

Cheesecake:

• 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups creamy peanut butter

Chocolate:

• 5 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions

Wooden pop sticks

For the cheesecake: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line a 8 by 8-inch baking pan with foil letting long flaps overlap on each side. Spray foil with nonstick spray.

Break up the brown sugar to remove all lumps. In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until very smooth. Add the cream and beat slowly; then add the yolks and vanilla mixing until just combined. Gently stir in peanut butter. Take care not to over beat the mixture; this incorporates too much air and causes the cheesecake to crack.

Pour and evenly spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Open the oven to release some heat, then lower the temperature to 200 degrees F. Continue to bake the cheesecake until the outside is set but the center is still loose, for about 45 minutes. Turn off the oven, and cool cheesecake in the oven for 45 more minutes. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

Lift cheesecake from the pan by lifting up the foil. Transfer to a cutting board. Cut into

1 1/2-inch cubes. Stick a wooden pop stick halfway into each bar and freeze for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, put the shortening and chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue to heat until completely melted, about 1 minute more.)

Dip the pops into the chocolate mixture, and stand on waxed paper to set, about 5 minutes. Serve cold (straight from the fridge), or freeze up to 2 weeks. Frozen pops make a cool summer treat, or can be allowed to temper for 10 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Upgrade: Coat the pops with chopped nuts or candies for a really decadent finish. To do this let the dipped pops drip over a bowl for 15 seconds before rolling them.